The Hemingway Hero

Many brave men and women in the military have been inspired by someone or something to put their life on the line for the sake of their country. John McCain and his heroic efforts during the Vietnamese war are a great example of how the Hemingway Hero inspires people in the world today. John McCain gets his inspiration from Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, in which he says he wants to be just like the main character: Robert Jordan (Stamburg). John McCain spent five and a half years in captivity in North Vietnam as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. The Vietnamese offered to set McCain free but he would not go without the release of his fellow Navy comrades saying, “I just didn’t think it was the honorable thing to do.” As result, McCain endured many brutal tortures and harsh mistreatment. Finally in March 1973, after five and a half years of oppression; John and other Americans held captive were released. (Nowicki and Muller) While John McCain is a real life hero, Frederick Henry in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, is a different kind of hero: the Hemingway Hero. A Hemingway Hero is one who exhibits the principle(s) of honor, courage, bravery, and endurance, one who has qualities that make a man “a man” and is able to more than just improvise in trivial situations but also demonstrates a big heart. A Hemingway Hero is one who always gets back up when the world knocks him down and never loses his integrity, one who is humble, has high moral codes, and puts others before himself. (Acker) Frederick Henry displays all these traits and more in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms because he is unafraid of death, shows little emotion when under pressure, and finds sensual pleasure from food and drink, hence making Frederick Henry a Hemingway Hero because of how he shows bravery, courage, and endurance during tough times. The Hemingway Hero is not afraid of death but tries to avoid it (Acker). Frederick Henry displays